


we'll be the last ones dancing in the faceless crowd (when there's no one to hold you, I will still hold you down)

by TheBashfulPoet



Series: Andreil Week 2019 [6]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andreil Week 2019, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon, Slow Dancing, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 02:17:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19781206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBashfulPoet/pseuds/TheBashfulPoet
Summary: If it were any other day, Andrew would be as far away from the dancefloor as possible. But today was not any other day; today was Dan and Matt’s wedding and all of the original foxes were strewn across the small dancefloor swaying back and forth to some beat Andrew couldn’t be bothered to know the name of. Today he is standing at the edges of the crowd watching Neil twirl between Matt and Dan with a giant grin across his lips and his tie hanging loosely around his neck.Andriel Week Day Six: Dance





	we'll be the last ones dancing in the faceless crowd (when there's no one to hold you, I will still hold you down)

**Author's Note:**

> Song: [HOLD YOU DOWN - X Ambassador](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuFflKF6GuQ)

If it were any other day, Andrew would be as far away from the dancefloor as possible. Despite the fact he frequently had patronship at Eden’s Twilight — a place that consisted of 85% dancefloor, 5% bar, and 10% seating — he never ventured further than the outskirts of the glossy tiles to collect his bumbling family. When Neil started coming along regularly, he didn’t even need to go that far and he was more than fine with that outcome. Dancefloors represented two of the things Andrew hated most in life: loud obnoxious people pressed together in tight spaces and idiots who didn’t understand the concept of personal space and the word no. Too many times did he have to teach people a lesson after they laid their hands on one of his and too many times did they think they could do the same to him. Not to mention dancing. Andrew Joseph Minyard does not dance (no matter how many times his cousin tries to cajole him into trying). So yes, any other day he wouldn’t be within a ten-foot radius of a dancefloor.

But today was not any other day; today was Dan and Matt’s wedding and all of the original foxes were strewn across the small dancefloor swaying back and forth to some beat Andrew couldn’t be bothered to know the name of. Today he is standing at the edges of the crowd watching Neil twirl between Matt and Dan with a giant grin across his lips and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. He watches as soft hues of pink and purple and blue slide across Neil’s cheeks and illuminate his eyes until they are impossibly brighter. He stares at the carefree set of his shoulders and the soft twinkle in his eyes as he catches Matt’s grin before a complicated twirl that sends his hair bouncing with the movement. He takes in how Neil’s eyes find his through the crowd and his smile grows impossibly wider and his eyes softer.

Andrew moves before he can think about it too hard, casually weaving through the throng of foxes and party-goers until he is standing just shy of Neil. Matt gives him a knowing look before spinning Neil into his arms and reaching for his wife, the dopiest grin on the man’s face as he gently wraps an arm around her waist and tangles their fingers together. Giving Matt a nod, he slides his hand into Neil’s and tugs him away from the happy couple.

Neil lets himself be guided smoothly, his step never faltering despite having no clue as to where Andrew wanted them to go. Andrew’s chest tightens at the blatant display of trust Neil places in him but squashes it down in favor of pulling Neil firmer against his chest and moving them to a less crowded part of the room. He stops on the edges of the dancefloor, still hovering on its outskirts but far enough away to give them space without brushing against another person. Neil’s brows arch in confusion, most likely having expected Andrew to drag them away entirely, but they smooth out when Andrew drops their joined hand and leans close.

“Yes or no?”

Neil smiles, a foolish careless thing that never fails to make Andrew’s stomach twist in knots and make his mouth dry. “It’s always yes,” he whispers.

For a moment, Andrew is tempted to say that it’s never always, but he bites his tongue. Not today. Instead, he steps closer into Neil’s space and loops Neil’s arms around his waist.

“Just here,” he murmurs as he slides a hand to the back of his neck while reaching for Neil’s other one.

Neil squeezes him gently, before relaxing his grasp loose enough for Andrew to pull away if he needs too but tight enough to reassure him its there. He does not step back but rather guides Neil closer until their bodies press together and he can move them into a steady sway. Neil’s smile grows.

“I thought you didn’t dance?” He dips his lips low to Andrew’s ear and whispers the words into the shell.

He suppresses the shiver at the feel of his hot breath, “I don’t. Never said I couldn’t.”

Neil chuckles and squeezes his middle. “I’ll count myself special then.”

“Just don’t tell Nicky.”

They spin. “Too late for that.”

He nods his head to the side and Andrew spots Nicky with tears in his eyes even as he raises his phone up undoubtedly for pictures. Andrew raises a middle finger at the man before turning Neil so his back is to the camera. He pretends not to notice how Neil’s grin grows wider.

Andrew squeezes his neck in warning. “Don’t be a pest.”

“I would never.” He grins.

Another squeeze, but it does nothing to stop the chuckle from rumbling in Neil’s chest nor prevent the vibrations from spreading through Andrew’s. He would be lying if he said that the feel of it didn’t make the corners of his own lips twitch upwards. It’s a small movement — one most people would miss on his otherwise apathetic expression — but not Neil. Never Neil. He lights up every time, his face softening as his eyes sparkle with undisguised joy and adoration. Acting like every one of Andrew’s smile is a treasure hard won and fought over. Like they are something precious to behold and meant to be cherished when they appear.

And for just a moment, Andrew lets himself fall a little bit harder for this man.

They sway and dance, slowly forgetting the world around them. Everything fades — the laughs of their friends, the steady thrum of music washing over them, flashes of a camera, the quiet murmur of chatter surrounding them — until all that matters is Neil’s arm at Andrew’s waist, his hand in his, and the steady rhythm of their hearts beating in sync.

But eventually their little bubble bursts and they have to return to the chaos of their family and friends as the party winds down and it’s time to see off the new married couple on their honeymoon. And, like everything the foxes do, it’s over the top with yelling and throwing rice as Dan and Matt race down an aisle hand in hand to an awaiting car. For the most part, Andrew hangs back and watches from a distance, not really seeing the point of the tradition and needing some space after being crowded in for most of the night. But Neil stands front and center, giving the couple a tight hug before they disappear and quiet promises to see them as soon as they get back, all the while Andrew’s eyes linger on his face and his chest tightens.

_Soon_ , he thinks. _Soon it will be them._

Andrew drags them to his car after that, not bothering to join the last of the partygoers who drift back to the venue for another hour or so of dancing and drinking in celebration of the happy couple. Neil goes willingly, a tired smile on his lips and sense of exhaustion weighing down his shoulders no doubt from a day filled with best-man duties and preparations for the day.

They don’t speak as they pull out of the parking lot and hit the road, but their hands tangle together over the center console and Andrew feels his stomach flip anyways. The radio is off and the windows are down as they fly down and empty highway and Andrew finds his eyes drifting to Neil every so often. He is leaned against the door, head half hanging out the window with a serene expression on his face as the wind whips this hair into a tangled mess and the light slides across his face in illuminating strokes. Andrew stares and stares and suddenly he can’t wait anymore.

“Open the glove box.”

Neil picks up his head and raises a brow. “Why?”

“Just do it.”

He turns his eyes back to the road and purposely keeps them trained there despite seeing the flicker of movements from his periphery and hearing the click of the glove compartment opening. He doesn’t look when he hears Neil rummaging around nor when he lets loose the smallest gasp that is almost swallowed by the air. He doesn’t need to, not when he knows that sitting in Neil’s hands is a small velvet box that has been sitting somewhere on his person for the last few months.

Andrew didn’t believe in the words forever or always. He didn’t believe they were anything more than empty bits of sound people strung together to appease another. Perhaps it’s because he spent too many years of his life having either concept broken or ripped away to truly delude himself into believing anymore. He had spent so long thinking too many of his foster homes could be his forever only to be proven wrong time and time again when they put him back into the system or he was forced to leave on his own. He thought Cass would be always until Drake came back and never left.

Forever & Always. What fucking bullshit. Nothing more than a lie meant to sell pretty cards and heteronormative ideals about romance that Andrew long since gave up in wanting for himself. But even so, Andrew never could escape their grasp. He listened to Nicky whisper those words quietly into the phone late at night when he thought the twins were long since asleep and he needed Erik to anchor him down. He saw Matt and Dan ink their promises of forever onto their skin with matching tattoos above their hearts. He endured countless of Wymack’s pathetic speeches proclaiming them all foxes for life, no matter how far they may become. He tasted the words from Neil’s lips late at night when he asked yes or no despite how much he wanted to rage at the idea — how much he tried not to believe in them. But the answer never changed.

No, Andrew didn’t believe in forever or always, but he thinks that with Neil he just might be willing to try anyway.

“Andrew,” Neil breathes.

“Open it.”

Only when he hears the soft click of the hinges snapping open, does he allow his eyes to drift back to Neil. He watches at Neil’s fingers reach for the simple black band sitting in the velvet plush and carefully caress the cool metal and traces the letters of the single word carved on the inside: Yes.

“ _Andrew_ ,” Neil tries again.

“What do you think of forever, Neil?” He asks instead, “You constantly say that word. Always. ‘Always yes, Andrew,’ ‘Always Drew,’ always always always. Obviously, you must have given it some thought.”

He lifts his eyes to meet Neil’s. “What I’m asking is, do you think you could spend that always with me?”

And really, Neil only ever had one answer when Andrew asked a question like that. No matter how many times he asked over the years, the answer never changed. Not once.

_Always._

**Author's Note:**

> if I had more time I'd fiddle with the ending a bit more, but as it stands I still really enjoy this fic and would die for these soft boys! Unfortunately, my fluffy fics are essentially done with this day for Andreil week so prepare for the angst my dudes!


End file.
